Angels Win Despite Shaky Effort by Ortiz

When Mo Vaughn hit a towering three-run home run, his second of the game, in the sixth inning to cap a five-run comeback and tie the score, few in the Edison Field crowd of 15,034 probably remembered who the Angel starting pitcher was Monday night.

And when Troy Glaus doubled in the seventh, took third on a wild pitch and scored the winning run on Bengie Molina’s sacrifice fly, it’s doubtful anyone was thinking about the top of the fourth, when the A’s bombed that Angel starter for six runs.

But as impressive as the Angels were offensively in a 9-8 victory over the Oakland Athletics, a win punctuated by Troy Percival’s strikeouts of Olmedo Saenz and Jeremy Giambi with a runner on second for his ninth save, their comeback obscured a growing dilemma: What to do about Ramon Ortiz?

The young right-hander from the Dominican Republic gave up eight runs--seven earned--and six hits in 3 2/3 innings Monday, and after six starts has an earned-run average of 6.90.

Ortiz has a lively 93-mph fastball, a solid slider and a changeup, but he appears to need some seasoning, a process the Angels may want him to continue in the minor leagues.

Manager Mike Scioscia felt Ortiz made considerable progress in his last start, when he gave up four runs and four hits in five innings of a 6-5 win over Baltimore on Wednesday, but Ortiz definitely regressed Monday night.

The right-hander was done in by the Giambi brothers and a Long ball, the former doing their Bash Brothers impression and the latter, leadoff batter Terrence Long, smashing a three-run homer to cap the fourth.

A fat Ortiz fastball to Jason Giambi with a runner on in the first inning landed deep in the right-field bleachers, an estimated 430 feet away, giving the Oakland first baseman a major league-leading 14 homers and 37 RBIs.

After two walks in the fourth, Jeremy Giambi deposited an Ortiz pitch into the right-center field seats for a three-run homer--estimated at 405 feet--and a 5-3 lead. Long followed singles by Ramon Hernandez and Eric Chavez with his homer to center, a blast that traveled an estimated 412 feet and put Oakland ahead, 8-3.

A walk to Randy Velarde, which included a 2-and-0 pitch that sailed behind Velarde’s back, ended Ortiz’s evening. Could it be the end, for now, of Ortiz’s stint in the majors?

Scioscia and pitching coach Bud Black have been patient with Ortiz, hoping he could mature and improve at the big league level, but they must be wondering if he would be better off taking his learning curve--and his fastball, slider and changeup--to the minors.

There are two viable options if the Angels want to demote Ortiz. Jason Dickson will be ready to come off the disabled list Saturday, and he could take Ortiz’s rotation spot, with left-hander Kent Mercker retaining the spot he took from Dickson.

Left-hander Jarrod Washburn, who has considerable big-league experience, is hitting his stride at triple-A Edmonton, with a 3-0 record and 3.52 ERA in five starts. Washburn took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 4-2 win over Memphis on Sunday.

The Angels had another big decision after the game, putting shortstop Gary DiSarcina on the disabled list and recalling Trent Durington from triple-A Edmonton. DiSarcina started Monday night after missing five games because of tightness in his right shoulder, but bounced two throws to first and was replaced by Benji Gil in the sixth inning.

“He’s going to have some more tests done [today],” Scioscia said. “This has been lingering. There have been a couple of days where it feels good, and some where it doesn’t. He had three good days at Seattle but went south again today. . . .”

What DiSarcina lacked in defense he made up for in offense, with a two-run double in the second and a single ahead of Darin Erstad’s RBI single in the fourth.

Vaughn’s first homer, a solo shot in the fifth, pulled the Angels to within 8-5 and chased A’s starter Ariel Prieto, who was pitching for the first time since April 19, 1998, after missing two years because of reconstructive elbow surgery.

Vaughn’s second homer, giving him 26 career multiple-homer games, came with two out in the sixth and followed Gil’s walk and Erstad’s single.